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Monthly Archives: December 2013

The fifth named storm of the 2013-14 winter, Electra is being forecast to spread across the eastern portion of the United States dumping precipitation as it moves along. This winter storm will develop in the Midwest Thursday into Friday and then track toward the northeast over the weekend while dumping snow and some ice. Late Thursday and into Friday, the storm will begin gathering moisture out of the Gulf wherein it will deposit patchy freezing rain and sleet over parts of Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois. This will make travel very hazardous as roadways, bridges and overpasses will be ice-covered and slippery.

By lunchtime Friday, Electra should be dumping mostly snow over the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys as well as the Great Lakes later in the evening. Major accumulations of snowfall should not take place until after the evening rush hour. However, roads will be slippery so travelers should use extra caution on their way home.

By Saturday morning, snowfall will be on-going over the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys and Great Lakes. This will make traveling on Saturday challenging on numerous major expressways in that part of the country.

Electra will continue dropping snow over parts of the Northeast Saturday and into the nighttime hours as well as early Sunday morning. The part of the country that’s expected to get the most snow is an area stretching from northern Pennsylvania into New York and further up into New England. Forecasters say that people in this part of the country should be prepared for anywhere from 6 to 12 inches or even more – especially further inland.

The National Weather Service is forecasting up to 6 inches of snow for portions of southeast Wisconsin Friday into Saturday with higher amounts along Lake Michigan. Those snowfall accumulations are too concerning to many people in the state who still clearly remember all the trouble caused by the gigantic winter storm that impacted their state last December. That storm literally buried parts of Wisconsin including the capital city of Madison which got over two feet of snow.

People living in the part of the country from Baltimore to Washington DC are still digging out from the several inches of snow they got earlier this week. Winter storm Dion is being blamed for the last round of winter weather that brought with it bitterly cold temperatures, snow and freezing rain. Now that winter storm Electra is being down on the Northeast, it’s time for people in that part of the country to yet again brace for more extreme winter weather. It’s too early yet to say just how much snow will fall in the northeast as it all depends on how this latest major winter storm tracks.

From the southern Plains states to the Mississippi and Ohio Valley and further northeast, winter storm Cleon is being predicted to dump snow, sleet and freezing rain on a large portion of the country. Cleon, which is the fourth named storm of the 2013-14 winter season, has already impacted several states earlier this week. The large system dumped over a foot of snow in parts of the Rockies and Upper Midwest on Wednesday.

Forecasters say that ice accumulations of half an inch or more are possible Friday in Dallas, Little Rock and Memphis. If that does take place, the ice will weigh down limbs and power lines which will almost certainly cause widespread power outages. Travel will be dangerous across a large part of the United States this weekend because of the winter storm system that’s sweeping across the nation.

Cold and icy weather is settling in from the southern US up to the Great Lakes on Friday. The National Weather Service has winter storm and ice warnings in effect for many states including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Cleon’s nasty mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow will affect millions of people and is threatening to cut power for hundreds of thousands. Some forecasters believe that Cleon will be the worst ice storm the country has seen since 2009 and that it will affect the same areas as that storm. The early 2009 ice storm claimed dozens of lives and resulted in 2 million homes and businesses being left without power from Oklahoma to West Virginia.

As the winter ice storm marches east, most of the mid section and western part of the US will experience some bone-chilling cold temperatures through this weekend. Temperatures are expected to be 20 to 30 degrees below normal which won’t push the mercury levels above single digits in many locations. The entire state of Wyoming was already below zero early Friday morning, prompting many outdoor events and venues there to close.

State and local officials are reminding people all across the country to be ready for winter weather. Now is the time people should be stocking up on supplies such as flashlights, drinking water, canned food, blankets, etc. The massive ice storm that’s causing problems in the US now is also a good reminder for homeowners to protect their pipes from freeze-ups. If a water pipe were to freeze and break, it could result in a devastating home flood. This is the time of the year when homeowners also should inspect their fireplaces and chimneys. Those who haven’t done so in a year or two, should their chimneys cleaned out to lower the risk of fire.